Stand by Me
by westernfan
Summary: Murdoch and Scott learn more about each other through a trying experience.
Murdoch anxiously glanced at the grandfather clock to remind himself that the time was nearing for his first confrontation with his eldest son. For the past year since he got his two teenage boys back under his wing he had just felt like things were falling into place the way that they should had been had not his boys been stolen from him for the good part of their lives. Getting to know his boys had been one of the greatest blessings along with also being one of the greatest challenges that Murdoch had ever faced. Johnny was an easy read. The strong-will, rebellion, and stubbornness that his youngest possessed reminded Murdoch of himself when he was a carefree youth. As he grew older he started to acquire some of the qualities that he shares with his oldest son Scott. He developed patience, and a strong sense of self confidence that led him to achieve the great empire that he built along with the strength to fight to bring the last of the family he had together again.

Murdoch also started to notice that aside from the desirable qualities that his sons possessed, that there were also at times flawed in their decisions and actions, which more than likely resulted from the absence of a father figure that they both desperately needed in their lives. This last thought brought Murdoch back to the thoughts of what he should do once his son rode back in. He never expected to have to face a situation like this with his sixteen-year-old Scott. Over the past year, Scott never seemed to falter from being the perfect gentleman that he was raised to be by his grandfather back in Boston. When word had reached Murdoch about the dishonest swindle that his eldest conducted in a business deal that took place without his permission or knowledge he automatically associated it with something that Johnny would probably do but he never imagined anything of this nature out of Scott. In the short time that he had custody of his boys he was hoping to instill in them how the integrity and grit that was put into the labor surrounding the working of this ranch brought prosperity in the long run. It bothered him that instead of this, greed won out in the mind of his oldest son. His thoughts were broken by the sound of hoof steps riding up through the front yard.

Murdoch restrained himself from getting up out of his chair to address his son as soon as he stepped through the front door. Instead he waited patiently in his chair behind his desk and pretended that he had been at his bookwork for the past few hours. Scott didn't even pretend to act as though nothing had happened as he entered the ranch house. Though he was slightly startled with a small sense of fear when he saw Murdoch from the corner of his eye as he entered the house, he didn't argue or try to flee when Murdoch beckoned him over to the desk for the two of them to have a talk. He tried to retain his dignified posture as he pulled up a chair to the desk across from his father.

"You have some explaining to do, young man." Murdoch started to open up the conversation.

"With all due respect, sir, I really do not see a need to provide an explanation. I turned a nice profit on that stock, and I feel as though…."

Murdoch was not about to sit and take sass from his son. "Do you feel as though you made that nice profit honestly?"

Although Scott was consciously aware of his transgression, having someone else point it out to him cut deep. He probably could have used the excuse that he grew up watching his grandfather exercise similar business proceedings, but he even knew then that the way his grandfather handled things was wrong. Scott could easily see that he wasn't going to be able to talk his way out of this one, and he was just as eager to leave the confrontation and move on.

"Yes sir. I am not even going to attempt to make any excuses for what I did. I know that I was wrong, and for that I am sorry."

"Scott, I'm proud of the way that you are taking responsibility for your actions. However, I can't overlook that the stunt that you just pulled has affected a number of people, most of those that work on this ranch, and I can't let it go unpunished."

Scott started to tense up in embarrassment. He just knew that once everyone heard about him being punished, whatever that punishment might be, that he would lose the respect that he had built up. Although Murdoch already had the discipline premeditated, his surety started to shrink when he saw what was normally his confident, young son slumped in his chair with his eyes adverted from his father. "When I first heard about the incident, I had every intention of tanning your hide." Scott shot up a look of disbelief. For some reason he was thinking that his father was either going to restrict him from going to the dance in town that was being held the next weekend or add to his list of chores, but he never even thought that he would be spanked like a child. "What do you think?" Murdoch asked.

Scott was lost for words. Of course he didn't want corporal punishment to be administered, but he wasn't sure of anything else he could do or say. "Honestly, I don't know," was all he could manage to whisper.

Murdoch still felt stuck about whether he should trust that his son learned his lesson and let it slide, or whether Scott desperately needed some paternal attention for pulling such a stunt. Though Murdoch didn't want to do it, he still had a gut feeling that he should follow through with what he had originally planned. "I believe we need to continue this conversation in the barn," Murdoch said in a sympathetic yet authoritative tone. Scott's heart dropped to his stomach. His thoughts of embarrassment soon turned to fear because he knew that his father was quite capable of tearing up his backside. He also knew that there was no changing Murdoch's mind. Though he wanted to protest he just couldn't muster up the words or the guts to challenge his father's authority. He just slightly nodded his head and stood up onto shaking knees as he turned from his father to make his way out the front door. Murdoch pulled open the drawer to his front desk and grabbed the razor strap that he had to keep there to periodically chastise Johnny. Murdoch really couldn't believe that he was about to discipline Scott in this way because he never thought that he would be given a reason to.

Scott never turned back when he heard the sound of his father walking behind him as they made their way to the barn. He did, however glance around to make sure that none of the work hands were watching them. Once inside, Murdoch pulled shut the barn doors to ensure that the two could settle this in private. When Murdoch walked towards the center of the barn to light a lantern the razor strap that he carried in his hand became visible. Scott gasped silently at the sight of it.

Murdoch kept his lecture brief. "I believe you know why I'm doing this, but just in case you don't I'll fill you in. I do not appreciate any business dealings that proceed from this ranch to be carried out in a dishonest manner, and I especially will not tolerate it when the one who conducts it happens to be my own son. Once you face the consequences of your actions, which you are about to do, I expect that you will have learned how to treat all of our clients with respect and we will never have to repeat this episode again. Do you have anything you would like to say?"

Scott paused for a second, but he took advantage of the opportunity that was given him. "I won't do it again, I promise," he said with a shaking voice that sounded so childlike to Murdoch. Although it did tug at the older man's heart, he was at the point where he was not to be detoured.

"Turn around, Scott. Bend over and grab the side of the table." Without another word, Scott submitted with tears threatening to already brim his eyes. Murdoch didn't keep him waiting in dread as he brought down the strap onto the seat of Scott's britches. It had been so long since Scott had received corporal punishment that he couldn't help but jump with a jolt. Murdoch gave him a few seconds to regain his composure and lower back into position. He then brought down the next few licks at a constant pace. Murdoch didn't have a number in mind. He always applied just enough force to get his message across, and always stopped when he read from the boy's body language that he couldn't take any more. For Scott it wasn't long in coming. By the fourth stroke he was grunting and still trying to hold back his tears. He quickly lost all control of his composure, and by the seventh was crying out to each lick. Murdoch slowed down and finished with three more hard strokes. Once finished Scott remained hunched over the table, too stiff and too afraid to stand up knowing that he was not going to be able to hold back from crying. Murdoch placed his hands on both of Scott's shoulders and gently lifted him up to a standing position. Just as Scott feared he couldn't keep himself from crying out loud for just a few seconds before he continued to shake and sob. Murdoch tried to turn him in order to gather him into a hug, but Scott rebelled from this gesture. So Murdoch just quickly rubbed a few circles on his back, and with a soft pat on the back said, "Alright, son, it's all over now. Let's go on up to bed. We've all got a long day ahead of us and we both need to get some rest."

Scott finally let go of the table and stiffly walked out the barn door. Murdoch followed his son. When he made it out the door, his heart broke when he saw Scott running in a full sprint toward the house, knowing that he would run up the stairs and shut himself up in his room. He also felt like a monster when he saw that Johnny had also watched with concern from his upstairs bedroom window. He tried to give the younger boy a sympathetic look, but the boy just turned away from the window, blew out the light of the lamp, and went back to bed.

He thought he would give Scott a little time to calm down before he tried to talk to him in the morning. Murdoch quietly made his way to his room, hoping that the running and all the commotion did not wake Teresa. He sighed heavily as he dressed for the night, and fell into bed with the exhaustion from the day's work and emotional stress that he had just been through. However, he couldn't bring himself to relax when he overheard his son's faint crying in the next room. He got back up and quietly made his way to Scott's room.

Scott was still in so much pain and regret that he couldn't get himself to calm down. After he slipped on his night shirt he felt the heat coming from his assaulted flesh and wondered how long it would take before he would feel some relief again. He climbed into the bed and pulled the covers to his mouth and sobbed, hoping that the quilt would muffle some of the noise that he was making. When Scott heard his door open, he quietened and tried to fake sleep while he was laying on his side facing the wall. Murdoch knew very well that the boy was still awake, and he sat down on the bed and softly ruffled Scott's hair. "How are you doing, Scott?" Murdoch asked just to check to make sure that the boy would be alright. Scott's only answer was the return of a quiet sobbing. Murdoch knew that the boy needed some comforting, despite rejecting it before. He gently grabbed Scott by the shoulders and gathered him up into a hug. This time Scott completely let his guard down and bawled into his father's shoulder. It was the first time that Murdoch ever truly got the chance to hold and gently rock his oldest son. He wasn't going to rush the moment, and he was determined to not let go until he could tell that Scott had cried himself out. Even when that moment came he continued to hold him for a while longer.

Moments later Scott finally let go and pulled away. Murdoch kissed his forehead then pulled the covers back over Scott as he was laying back down. Murdoch was still trying to study and figure out how to handle Scott. While it never took Johnny much time to recover from a whipping he could still tell that something was eating at Scott. "Do you want to talk about it?" Murdoch asked.

Scott paused for a second. He never really liked to talk about his feelings. "I just don't want you to be disappointed with me," he finally said quietly.

Murdoch lightly patted Scott's face and said, "Son I was disappointed in your actions, but I have never been disappointed with you." Murdoch started to reflect to try to find just the right words that he felt that Scott needed to hear. "All these years, you were constantly on my mind. Once I saw how much you looked like Catherine when you were five, I kept this image of you in my mind as I imagined how you were growing. Nothing brought me more joy than to see that buckboard ride up with you and your brother. Although it didn't start out as gracefully as I had hoped, this house has never known more life nor more joy than when you the two came to live here. And getting to know each of you has been such an adventure. I look across at you at the dinner table, and I just watch your little clicks and mannerisms and I just can't believe that young, intelligent gentleman is actually a part of me. Now I understand that you're never going to do everything just right, but that's what I'm here for Scott. I know you probably feel that I was too harsh with you tonight, but give it a few days and think about it and if you still feel like I punished you unjustly then please feel free to come to me and talk about it. Now I will tell you this, I love you more than life itself, and as far as that business deal goes—I have already forgotten about it. Except for the part where you are going to ride back out there tomorrow and apologize to Mr. Jenkins and offer to buy that cattle back. I know that that's going to be hard for you, but if you need someone to support you at that time I would be more than glad to stand by you."

Although Scott had hoped that it would have been under different circumstances, he felt like the emptiness that he had felt his whole life had just been filled. He always dreamed of one day getting to know his father, and to actually hear straight from his father's mouth that Murdoch was proud of him and loved him suddenly made all of the hurt that he had just experienced vanish away. He was finally able to muster up a small grin and said, "There's no one else that I would rather stand by me."

Murdoch gleamed. He finished tucking Scott in, blew out the light from the lamp by the door and said, "Goodnight, son. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Pa," Scott said almost unconsciously as he started to drift into sleep. Murdoch gleamed again. It was the first time that either of his sons had called him Pa. He once again made his way to his bedroom, and this time was able to succumb to his body's desperate need for some rest.


End file.
